BRAZIL. Forward bookings for Olympic arrivals in Rio de Janeiro between 27 July and 21 August are up +148%, according to research from travel analyst ForwardKeys.
Duty free and travel retailers will aim to take advantage of the short-term boost in passenger numbers.
Paralympic arrivals between 1 and 18 September are up +29%, compared to the same period last year. The entire Olympic and Paralympic period (27 July to 18 September) doubles last year’s arrivals, ForwardKeys said.
The US will account for 18% of total international arrivals for the entire period, followed by Argentina (13%), Germany (7%), the UK (6%) and Japan (5%).
Total scheduled international seats to Rio de Janeiro are up +19% compared to the same timeframe in 2015. Additional seats are scheduled for the Olympics from some US cities (Miami, New York, Houston and Atlanta), Canada (Toronto), and four out of nine directly connected European airports (Frankfurt, Paris, Lisbon and London).
The peak arrival date is 4 August, the day before the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
However, forward bookings for total international arrivals between 19 September and the end of the year are down -13%. Bookings from Latin American markets are still up +24%, though.
The ForwardKeys study takes into account reservations made until 29 June.
